First Time Mom Must Haves

As I’m growing and awaiting baby #6 my mind is in prep mode; making sure I have all that I need as we welcome another newborn into our family. Pictured here is me with our oldest and youngest and there are baby products that we used when this almost eight year was a baby that we still own and love and I have come to realize that you actually don’t need all of the things those baby super stores make you think you do! Avoid the clutter and avoid wasting money on the non-essentials! Here are a few of my favorite things! (Oh and by the way, none of these companies paid me or gave me anything to promote these products; these are things I actually bought and loved!)

Promptly Journals
If you’re expecting go ahead and order yours today so you can document your pregnancy and then all of your child’s years up to 18! This beautiful book includes plenty of space to write and “prompts” you to answer meaningful questions about your child that you’ll want to remember when they’re older, and it also includes spaces for photos. As an adoptive mother, I appreciate that they offer a special journal for your adopted child and their special story.
www.promptlyjournals.com

Pack ’n Play
I can’t really say enough about a good ole Pack ’n Play. It’s just such an essential. We have used ours for the newborn days when we wanted our babies in our room with us and then for years and years down the road for traveling. Some of them come with a removable changing space and bassinet, which we loved. We have the Graco brand but there are other great ones out there. Put one at the top of your registry list!
www.gracobaby.com

The Miracle Blanket
Believe me when I say that not all swaddle blankets are created equal. The one we found to work the best and keep our babies asleep the longest was The Miracle Blanket. I’ll have to defer to them to give you a good description and video of its use, but essentially it’s the only one we have ever found that will successfully keep your newborn’s arms down by her side and not creeping up near her face, which will inevitable wake her up. Get a couple of them so that when one is soiled you will have another on hand!
www.miraclebabyusa.com

Avent bottles
These can be for formula or breast feeding moms alike! Skip all the parts; they’ll make you crazy keeping up with them and washing them and it’ll start to feel like a full-time job. Go with Avent brand bottles and only have the bottle, the top and the nipple to deal with. They offer all of the same anti-colic promises that all of the others do but with much less hassle. Thank me later. 😉
www.usa.philips.com

Aiden and Anais burp cloths
You just can’t have enough of these! I love them for their contoured shape to throw over your shoulder when burping baby and for their sweet design options. They come with a snap as well to fasten around baby’s neck in the later months and I appreciate the ease of throwing one in my diaper bag to put around my baby’s neck if I need to feed her a bottle or baby food when we’re on the go. Get a stash of these and maybe go with the gender neutral ones to get even more use out of them if you end up having another baby later on of the opposite sex.
www.aidenandanais.com

Last but certainly not least… one of my favorite possessions:
My Lily Jade diaper bag. These bags are beautiful inside and out and are made out of premium full grain leather and only look better over time. My favorite part about it is that it’s a bag that goes with anything I’m wearing and it doesn’t LOOK like a diaper bag but features everything you want in a diaper bag. These bags include a “baby bag” that easily goes in and out of the shell of the bag with lots of compartments and pockets so that when you drop your baby off in church nursery or day care you can leave baby’s essentials with them and still have your bag with you! I use my own bag as my diaper bag and my own personal purse because it’s so big! Most of them come with the ability to use it as a shoulder bag or a backpack. This bag is a bit of an investment but trust me, it’s money well spent.
www.Lily-jade.com